On any given day, millions of people in the United States will be using some type of mobility device or walking aid. The need for such devices may be based on a person's physical handicap or disability (e.g., osteoarthritis), may be based on overly long distances that a person may otherwise need to traverse on foot, may be based on age, or may be based on other mobility impairment issues. Although most mobility assistance devices include crutches, canes, and walkers, about a quarter of the mobility assistance devices used in the United States include some type of wheeled device, such as a wheelchair, wheeled walker, or other self-propelled or battery-propelled personal transporter.
Furthermore, many people with mobility issues are sufficiently capable of operating a vehicle, allowing them to drive to a certain destination and then venture to farther places using their mobility assistance device. This offers the person an opportunity to maintain an independent and active lifestyle.
One problem with many wheeled mobility devices, however, is that they can tend to be heavy and/or bulky. Therefore, some vehicles may be equipped with a wheelchair ramp, lift, or other device for helping the person move the wheelchair into the vehicle. However, this equipment can be rather expensive and is not particularly necessary for all users. For most vehicles, which do not have such equipment installed, it can be a problem for someone who already may have physical limitations to lift a wheelchair or other similar device into a trunk of a vehicle, onto a bed of a pickup truck, into a back seat area of a van or minivan, or into any other storage compartment of a vehicle.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple and easy-to-use carrier device that may be used to carry a personal wheeled mobility device (e.g., wheelchair) on a vehicle. There is also a need for a device that can be attached to the vehicle and that can reduce the amount of heavy lifting required by the user to place the wheeled mobility device onto the carrier.